Dark Day For Team New Zealand

The New Zealand team
lived a nightmare in this first America's Cup race.
Approximately 30 minutes into the Race 1, Team New Zealand
abandoned the regatta after a series of technical gear
failures. Alinghi sailed around the course alone to earn the
first point of the America's Cup.

AUCKLAND - February 15,
2003 - Team New Zealand and Team Alinghi left their
compounds for the first match of the America's Cup
accompanied by the din of thousands of spectators cheering
around the Viaduct harbor. The ambience was intense, as
observers could feel the magnitude of this event. On the
Hauraki Gulf, legions of spectator craft followed the race,
expecting a fantastic match-up. But a series of catastrophes
onboard NZL 82 forced the New Zealand team to bow out early
from the Race 1of the 31st America's Cup.

In 19 to 25
knots of the wind, the boats endured enormous stress,
especially in the quick maneuvers executed in the pre-start
phase. It is essential that the yacht be scrutinized, to
avoid the damage that can happen in high-tech sports. The
heavy conditions today demonstrated the importance of the
shore team's work to prepare the boat for the conquest of
the Cup. Brad Butterworth devoted "one point for the boat
builders," after crossing the line.

The competition took
to the water under clear blue skies at 13:15 local time.
Team New Zealand took the early advantage, starting in the
windward position in 18-20 knots of southeast breeze blowing
steadily. It looked like an even boat speed match as the
teams started evenly and fired out to the left. But it
quickly became a very different race than expected. Waves
washed over the side of NZL 82 in the pre-start sequence,
and the boat continued to take on a sizable amount of water
as fast as the sailors could bail. The black boat tacked
away, competitive in the game, but Alinghi crossed in front.
A broken boom added to the frustration onboard NZL 82. The
failure occurred at the outboard end of the boom that tapers
to a small tube sheathing the load compression components
for the outhaul system. The third problem occurred when the
shackle at the top of the mast holding the headsail f to
accommodate the sail). To avoid further damaging the boat,
NZL 82 retired approximately 30 minutes after the start of
the race, with her headsail flapping in the wind and water
in the cockpit. Team Alinghi maintained their calm composure
and the crew sailed skilfully as the wind gusted and the sea
state became increasingly agitated. The Swiss boat carefully
sailed around the course alone in the rough conditions to
earn the point and crossed the line at 15:15.

QUOTES
FROM THE BOAT

RUSSELL COUTTS, SKIPPER/HELMSMAN - "One
point is one point and we will take all the points we can
get. We're happy - it was a tough day in strong wind and the
shore team did an excellent job. Those heavy conditions were
a big test for the boat, and we came through today."

MANUEL RUIZ DE ELVIRA, DESIGNER - "Two of the basic
conclusions that we can take is that we are comfortable
sailing the boat is all conditions. The other point is that
our crew and everyone onboard SUI 64 looked in control. In
terms of speed upwind, Team New Zealand does not seem to
have huge advantage in these conditions that they are
supposed to be good for them."

MICHEL MARIE, BOATBUILDER -
"We have been honored that Brad Butterworth dedicated this
point to the boatbuilding team. In a challenge, we try to
achieve a total symbiosis among the shore team and the
sailors. In the end, it is a mechanical sport, as we have
been able to see today."

HIGHLIGHT - BOOM SYSTEMS

In
today's race, we saw the reliability of Team Alinghi's boat
and calmness of the crew in heavy conditions. In particular,
the conventional design of the box section boom on SUI 64
proved to be dependable. In contrast, Team New Zealand
suffered boom failure when the carbon tube at the end of
their lightweight truss system boom broke.

The advantage
to their system is that the truss boom is light and they
have built it to decrease windage and weight of the boom in
the ends. To achieve this decreased weight in the ends,
instead of building a conventional box section, NZL 82
tapers from a truss to a carbon tube.

The outhaul system
is a complex attachment of the mainsail to the boom. The
main load component is compression into the boom from the
outhaul tension. The mainsheet and leach loads are separate
to the outhaul system and do not get transferred into the
end of the boom.

Team New Zealand's outhaul system, at
the outboard end of the boom, is built into a small diameter
carbon tube. When the tube broke, the team was unable to
control the outhaul tension on the mainsail. The foot
tension of the sail was loose, resulting in an uncontrolled
mainsail shape.

Alinghi, Challenge for the America's Cup
2003, is flying the Swiss flag and carrying the colors of
the Société Nautique de Genève. UBS, Infonet,
Audemars-Piguet and Riri are its proud sponsors.

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